Dark Secret (45 page)

“You need to get in the spring or you really will be sore.” He lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather, cradled her against his chest, and carried her to the steaming spring. He paused, the same sensual smile teasing her senses. “Unless you want me to lick you better. My saliva acts like a healing agent.”

Colby circled his neck with her arms. “I could like you when you act like this, Rafael.” She kissed his throat, nibbled her way to his jaw. “Why don’t you act like this all the time? Sweet and gentle.”

He waited until her lips teased the corner of his before turning his head to capture her mouth. His move was aggressive and commanding, taking possession, his tongue spearing deep and tangling with hers in a wild mating. Her heart jumped and her blood sang. He lifted his head, black eyes glittering at her. “That is why. I know you. Inside and out, I know what you need, maybe better than you do. You like me rough.”

Colby pulled back to stare up at his face, etched with stark possession. “Is that what you think, Rafael?” Her tone was very serious. “Is that what you think you read in my mind?”

“You would never respect a man you could dominate, Colby. You are a strong woman and you require a man who can make decisions, not be overwhelmed by the strength of your personality.” He answered her just as seriously.

“Rafael, I can’t be submissive to you. It isn’t in my character—don’t you see that as well? I have to have some control, some partnership, or it would never work between us. I could never love you. I know I’m sexually addicted, but I want to be in love with you as much as you want me to be. I just can’t make that leap knowing you don’t respect my judgment.”

“
Querida,
why would you think I do not respect your judgment? You are in a situation you cannot possibly understand. It makes sense to rely on my judgment until you have gained the knowledge and power necessary to cope with our world.”

There was such love in his voice, such a wealth of tenderness, her heart turned over. If he could only be like that all the time. She closed her eyes as his teeth teased her pulse and her body responded with a fresh wave of heat. “I would like to explore the sexual addiction to me. It sounds most interesting.”

“Great. Now you’re telling me I’m kinky.” She leaned back and stared up at the stars. Maybe she was. The things he did to her body were inconceivable with anyone else, but with him, she melted every time he came near her. “Maybe I am, but only when it comes to you.”

“I like you kinky,” he whispered against her neck. Against the pulse beating in her throat. “I need to taste you tonight,
meu amor.
Give yourself to me.”

“No way.” She shook her head even as her body went weak at the sensual brush of his voice. Deep inside, her muscles clenched and her womb throbbed. She could feel heat building and it had nothing to do with the hot springs. “Last time you got all vampy on me and scared me to death. Sink your fangs into someone else.”

His mouth moved down her throat, his tongue lapping at the small dip in her shoulder. His teeth scraped back and forth in a particularly erotic way. She closed her eyes. “Make sure it isn’t a woman, though.”

He waded into the water so that it lapped around his thighs. His laughter vibrated against her neck, teeth teasing. “I want you again.”

“You always want me, you’re wearing me out,” Colby said.

“Again,” he insisted, easing them both down into the steaming water. “Wrap your legs around my waist.” His eyes were dark with passion as he took possession of her mouth, licking at her lips, taking teasing bites until she was kissing him back, her arms sliding around his neck, her breasts pressed tight against his chest.

He sat with his back against the side of the natural basin, pulling her down onto his lap, dragging her legs around him
so that he could spear into her tight channel as she settled over him. He swore softly, against her neck. “
Deus,
Colby. You are so hot and tight. It feels like heaven.” His hands guided her hips into a slow, rocking rhythm. “That is perfect. You drive me out of my mind.”

She started to sit straight, to ride him with a leisurely pace, but his hands slid up her back, pressing her close, keeping her against him. His mouth moved over her shoulder, licked at her, blazing kisses across her skin. “I have to taste you,
meu amor.
There will be no mistakes this time. Give yourself to me. It will be such pleasure.” His sinful voice whispered temptation. “You have no idea how much I need you. No one else will ever need you or love you the way I do. They will never understand your needs or your hunger.” His tongue swirled over her pulse, just along the swell of her breast. His teeth scraped seductively. “Give yourself to me.”

Steel ran through his arms, yet he held her with a gentle possessiveness, even more persuasive than the way her body was rippling with fire. His breath was warm on her skin, and each tiny bite made her muscles clench and tighten around him. The desire to give him whatever he wanted, whatever he needed, pulsed through her.

“I am not going to shield you,
pequena.
” His voice was rough with passion and she felt him grow thicker and harder, his hips thrusting upward to meet her lazy ride.

His obvious heightened arousal only fed her own. She cradled his head, his hair a silky slide over her skin. His tongue swirled and her muscles tightened and gripped. She felt the fresh flood of liquid heat, of excitement, burning between her legs. Her heart beat once, twice. His fangs sank deep, white-hot pain lashing through her body to give way to sheer erotic pleasure. She gasped, threw her head back, a soft cry escaping as every nerve ending in her body sizzled to life. She thought she could feel sparks igniting as he thrust deeper. The force began to build and build until she thought she might die of the pleasure. She began to pick up the pace, needing release, but his hands slid to her hips, rocking her gently, preventing a climax, keeping her teetering on the edge of madness.

It was an incredible luxury to hold her naked in his arms, her body riding his while he drank the nectar from her body.
She was scorching hot, surrounding him with velvet heat, her muscles gripping him tightly, squeezing and massaging until his head roared with lust and love. Her blood sang in his veins, burned through his body until he felt complete. He swept his tongue across her breast, closing the twin pinpricks, his body thickening even more.

He found her mouth with his, poured everything he felt for her into his kiss. She tightened her arms around his neck, kissing him back as she slowly slid up and down the hard length of him, sending shudders of ecstasy through both of them. “I love you, Colby. You are everything to me.” He whispered the words against her lips. His heart was pounding out of his chest in anticipation. She was all soft skin, all heat and fire, a haven for him. Her body was made for his and he took the greatest joy in knowing he could make her scream in pleasure.

His fingernail lengthened. His hand shook with the enormity of the moment. Colby would be his for all time, joined in his world, her life twined with his, the miracle of his species. The ritual words had bound them, but he had been too close to the beast. He was always too close to the beast for anything less than a full commitment between them. For one moment time stopped. His heart thundered in his ears. She would hate that he was taking this decision from her. He read her mind, knew she was searching for a way to bridge their two worlds. This would anger her, but if he took her to his home, brought her fully into his world, he knew he could make her happy, devoting himself completely to that end. He would have ample time to persuade her to get over being angry with him. He needed her more than any other, and she did love him; she just couldn’t admit it to herself or to him, but he read it in her mind.

He bent to press his mouth against her ear, whispering a command to her, rocking her body with small thrusts of his hips. The water lapped at them with sizzling heat, but it only added to the erotic world he was floating in.

Her mouth traveled down his throat, her teeth nipping his skin, his body swelling, stretching her tight sheath impossibly at the little stinging bites. Fire ripped through him as he slashed his chest with the sharp nail and caught the back of her head to force her to drink. Her body moved subtly, naturally
sensual, even under his thrall. Her tongue swept over his chest and he shuddered in reaction. Her mouth moved, drawing the essence of who and what he was into her body. His blood spread through her like molten lava, moving slowly to every cell, invading muscle and bone and tissue, spreading to every organ until she was truly his, He felt the completion of their union and the terrible tension finally faded from his soul.

When she had taken enough for a true exchange, he slowly separated her mouth from his chest, commanding her to sweep her tongue across the slash to close it. He kissed her hard as he removed the hypnotic spell, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth while he speared upward with his hips, keeping her riding the edge of a climax. He swallowed her soft moan, urging her into a harder, faster rhythm.

Colby wound her fingers in his silky black hair. He made her feel so beautiful, so incredibly sexy, as if he could never get enough of her. He made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world. “Maybe I do love you,” she whispered, making the confession against his neck, her tongue tasting his skin. She rocked back, holding her body away from his so she could look into his dark eyes. Insatiable hunger blazed back at her. Possession. Love. It was stark and raw and rough like Rafael, but it was all hers.

Her soft words nearly drove him over the edge. It was a hard-fought battle to get her to admit she might feel something other than pure lust for him. Satisfaction spread.

“Lock your ankles around me, Colby.”

She felt his hands on her bottom, lifting her more fully into him. She didn’t think it was possible, but he stretched her more, leaving her gasping and calling his name. He took over, setting the pace, pinning her hips while he thrust again and again, driving her right through a violent release. The tight grip of her climax, fiery hot, took the last of his control. His entire body seemed to explode, his own release tearing up from his toes, pulsing through his groin as he emptied himself into her.

Colby collapsed onto his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. His arms slid up her back, held her close. His heart was strong and steady, beating wildly in tune with hers. She was beginning to like the concept of hearts beating together.
She drifted in a haze of pleasure, her eyes closing while the hot water lapped at her sore body and Rafael made her feel safe and loved.

After a time he carried her out of the spring and laid her on her back on a thick carpet of grass. She opened her eyes to look up at the stars while he stretched out, naked, on his stomach, blanketing her. His body was wedged between her legs and he pillowed his head on her stomach. She tangled her fingers in his hair. “I’m so tired, Rafael.”

“I know,
meu amor.
Go to sleep if you like. I want to look at you. I love just looking at you.” He bent to press his lips against her navel. His fingers moved possessively over her skin. He loved touching her as much as he loved looking at her. Almost without thought, he sought the outline of her birthmark. For some reason, this time, the outline was more pronounced. He could trace the pattern. Shock rippled through him and he raised his head to stare down at the small fire-breathing dragon. His breath rushed out of his lungs, fingers dug into flesh, along her hipbones. “You are Dragonseeker.
Deus!
You have the mark of the Dragonseeker clan.”

Beneath him, Colby stiffened. He was talking about her birthmark. She reached down in an attempt to cover it, fear spearing through her. He pushed her hand away, locking his arm around her hip to keep her pinned down. “You had to have been born with this mark. I have not seen such a thing in centuries.”

“I was told you would kill anyone with such a mark.” He didn’t sound as if he was going to kill her. There was a silky caress in his voice that made her weak all over. He nuzzled the birthmark, his tongue stroking over the shape and texture of it. She could feel his excitement pulsing through him.

“Who would tell you such a thing? Dragonseeker is one of our most powerful bloodlines. They are Carpathians with skill and cunning and gifted with battle sense as no others and their lifemates often produce female children. We thought the family had died out a long time ago. No Carpathian would ever harm a woman of the Dragonseeker lineage, nor would they wish to harm a warrior of that house.”

She lifted her head to look at his black, gleaming eyes. He meant every word. She relaxed beneath the silken heat of his
mouth, “Do you remember the woman in the parking lot of the bar? She heard you when you threatened to hurt anyone interfering with your business.”

He nuzzled the triangle of curls with his chin, sending a wave of desire rushing through her bloodstream. “Yes, she heard me when I spoke telepathically.”

“She has the same birthmark only hers reacts differently. She was taught to avoid hunters and her mark grows hot when one is near, just as it does when a vampire is close by. She told me that an ancestor, Rhiannon, left her lifemate, although she used the term husband, and went off with a powerful man. A war broke out.”

“It is true that there was a war, but Rhiannon was kidnapped and her lifemate murdered. She was held captive by a powerful wizard . . .”

Colby groaned. “I don’t know if I want to know this. Vampires are bad enough, Rafael. Please don’t tell me there are wizards.”

“Call them what you like. Powerful beings trained in the ways of magick. They were well versed in the old ways when safeguards and spells were plentiful and all things of the earth were worshipped and cherished. They were called wizards only to identify their teachings and skills. Rhiannon had begun to study with one of their most powerful teachers. He conspired to murder her lifemate and take her for his own. Most lifemates do not survive the passing of their mate. Her captor must have found a way to keep her alive for a time.”