Ferro emerged, his gaze on the snakelike reptile Sergey had sent. “It has feet, just as Lorraine said.”
They all watched as it began scissoring the feet back and forth in a frantic attempt to saw through the floor of the cage. “What is it?”
“I think a homing device,” Andor said. “I think the reptile is the delivery system and will do anything to get to Elisabeta.”
“Of course he wants Elisabeta.” Ferro turned from staring at the strange creature to Andor. “His greatest desire. He would not want to lose her. She has sustained him all these long years.”
When he turned, Andor could see the extent of his injuries. There were two that were clearly mortal wounds and needed repairing. He glanced at the healer. Gary was looking at the wounds, not the ancient. He knew healers had a difficult time being around the wounded without aiding them. Apparently, Gary was no different.
Andor studied the big Carpathian with concern. He had been torn up by the master vampire. The undead had definitely put up a fight for survival. He knew few ancients without lifemates would accept the help of another. Not unless the situation was so dire they had no other choice but help or death. By the looks of him, Ferro had chosen death, yet here he was, sitting in the middle of the healing grounds.
“I thought Gary had seen to your wounds,” Andor said.
“I did the best I could to get him back here,” Gary answered when Ferro remained stubbornly silent. “He went straight to ground.”
“Ferro, we have need of every hunter right now,” Tariq chastised, his voice mild.
Ferro flicked him a look.
“Do not be such a baby,” Andor snapped. “Big deal—a healer has to help you. I had three mortal wounds. You have only two. I doubt you will have nearly as much need of him as I did.”
“Stop whining. Your lifemate has turned you into an old man, wizened and soft.”
“Do not be jealous that I had much more severe wounds and yet suffered them stoically.”
“I thought the wounds on both of you were mortal,” Lorraine said. “Doesn’t that mean that both of you would die from them? How can one be considered more mortal than another?”
Gary shed his body and went into Ferro’s before the ancient could protest.
“They cannot,” Ferro said.
“Of course they can,” Andor said. “The master vampire I fought nearly eviscerated me. Believe me, having your guts ripped out is no fun.”
“Your guts were not ripped out,” Sandu pointed out. “And it just means you are slower.”
Lorraine’s ripple of laughter was worth making a fool out of himself with trying to distract Ferro while Gary healed him.
The nasty little creature’s feet hadn’t stopped moving the entire time and the claw marks on the cage floor were deep now. Andor shook his head. “You are not going to get away.”
The moment he uttered those words, the reptile stared at him in silence. The feet ceased to move. The tail with the venomous stinger on it whipped up and hit itself in the back. The mouth opened in a silent scream and the thing fell over on its side.
“It must have poisoned the ground,” Ferro ventured.
“I doubt it. It had one purpose, and that was to get to Elisabeta,” Andor said.
“She has to be Sergey’s lifemate,” Sandu said.
Ferro shook his head. “That is impossible.”
“Why would you say that?” Andor asked. “It fits. Why else would he target her even when she was a young Carpathian? She couldn’t have been more than a teenager when she disappeared. Her brother, Traian, was frantic by all accounts. Sergey must have had a reason for taking her.”
“I believe he did,” Ferro said. “She has gifts. But she is not his.”
“You can’t possibly know that.”
“I can, because she is mine. Elisabeta is my lifemate.”
20
Lorraine lay across the bed in the house Tariq had graciously lent them. Outside, the water from the lake lapped at the shore. The moon spilled her light through the open window right onto Lorraine’s very bare bottom. Andor had a difficult time keeping his mind on the subject she was so intent on talking about when just the sight of her gave him other ideas.
“I don’t understand. If he knew that Elisabeta was his lifemate, how could he possibly consider going to that ridiculous monastery where you were all locked away with no chance whatsoever of finding your lifemates?”
“As I understand it, Elisabeta’s cries were muffled beneath the soil, and he heard her voice then and knew when he went this last night into the soil to heal. He shifted his position to lie closer to her, in an attempt to give her comfort. That was why you felt such sorrow in him. He felt her pain. He shared that pain, more emotional than physical.”
Andor drew his hand down her hair, feeling the slide of silk in his palm. “He will rise with her and try to aid her. She hasn’t known any other but Sergey in all these centuries. She had only his company, his care. He told her what he wished her to know. He fed her. Took care of every need, and demanded who knows what in return. It will be a long road back for her.”
Lorraine nodded. “I know. She’ll be so frightened of everyone, having no interaction with others. I hope Ferro has endless patience.”
“He is her lifemate.”
“Are we going to stay here?”
“I think they need us here. Why?” He bent his head to slide his tongue over the nape of her neck, tasting her skin. She shivered and her hips squirmed, drawing his attention once more to her bare bottom.
“I’d like to help her if at all possible. I know her instincts will tell her to get back to Sergey, even if she doesn’t want to. She really will be so afraid. Once Sergey realizes she has a lifemate, my guess is, he’ll want to kill Ferro. They’ll both need friends.”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought.” He should have known she would. Lorraine had a lot of compassion in her. Others would just look at the surface, judging Elisabeta; they had no idea of what the real damage several lifetimes of living as a slave to an evil man would be, let alone a vampire.
“Yes. I feel like we’re a family. You. Me. Sandu, Gary and Ferro. I know that sounds silly, given they’re ancients and don’t feel the same about me. Us. Maybe you don’t, either, but I want Ferro to know we’ll help him in any way we can.”
He kissed her right in the middle of her spine and then added more kisses until he got to the small of her back. He loved her. It was impossible not to love Lorraine. “I think you are wrong about the others, sívamet. They have a deep respect for you. As much as we can call someone family when we do not know what that is exactly, they call you family.”
Those long lashes swept her cheeks and then her green gaze was steady on his face. “I worry that Ferro will overpower Elisabeta. Just looking at him can scare me, so you can imagine what it will do to her. Is he going to stay, do you think? Now that he knows she’s here and needs him?”
“I believe he will. It is difficult to say with Ferro. He goes his own way. Even if he stays, csecsemõ, this does not guarantee them a happy ending. She has to be pretty damaged and he is . . . different.”
“Then it’s more important than ever for us to stay and help them.”
He slid his hand down the smooth expanse of her spine. “You cannot interfere between lifemates. That is a sacred law in our world.”
She scowled at him. “I have no intentions of interfering. Guiding maybe, but not interfering.”
Andor found himself laughing. The real thing. The laughter spread happiness through his entire body. Joy had colors and they danced in the air around his woman. Her little scowl turned into a slow, beautiful smile that shook him.
“Tet vigyázam, Lorraine. Always. I had no idea I could love so much. It seems to grow with every rising. You bring me such gifts.”
She smiled at him,
her heart in her eyes. “I love you more than I thought it was possible to love, Andor. She rolled over onto her back. “Kiss me. Right here.” She pointed to her mouth.
He kissed her eyelids. When he lifted his head, her long lashes fluttered against her cheeks so he kissed them as well. Then he left trails of kisses on either side of her mouth. He loved her mouth. The shape of it. The texture. That sweet fire she poured down his throat when she kissed him back. The scorching heat she surrounded his shaft with when she took his cock into her mouth and brought him pleasure beyond measure. The way she laughed, her white teeth flashing at him, teasing him, coaxing the joy that seemed to spread through him. Her mouth did all of that. That perfection.
He kissed her, cajoling her lips apart with the tip of his tongue until she gave him entry. At once, it was there, all of it, the beauty of her response, instant, fiery, her taste exquisite and just for him. All his. She kissed him back, her arms circling his neck, her body melting into his, giving him everything—giving him her.
He spent time on her mouth, letting the need for her, that terrible hunger, take him over. The brutal urgency swept through his entire body like a wildfire he knew only she could put out. He kissed his way down her throat, leaving marks of his possession because this rising was his. Theirs. She had risen fully Carpathian.
After keeping her in the healing soil for three days, he knew her body was completely, wholly Carpathian. She was strong. She embraced his world. His soul was intact, and that mattered to him. Living mattered to him.
He kissed his way to her breasts. He loved their shape and size. The feel of them. Soft, responsive. He made certain to take advantage of that fact, and spent time there as well. Kissing. Using his teeth and tongue. Waiting for her to squirm, her hips bucking. Her breathing changed, a ragged, labored sound that was music to him.
He kissed his way to the junction between her legs. She widened her thighs at his urging, and drew up her knees at his command. He loved that about her, too. She was always ready for him, always responsive and willing to go where he wanted to go. She made her own demands just as readily, stopping him to drag him up for more kisses, or holding his head to her breast. Now, her moans started, a soft melody of need.
She had a hunger that matched his and she was ferocious about it. He loved that, too. She was his match in every way. Her breathless cries told him she was close, so he stopped abruptly, lifting his head to watch her face. He saw hunger there, all for him. All his. It had been a long road, but he had her now.
“Turn over, Lorraine. I want you on your hands and knees.”
She flicked him a look that said he’d better hurry, but she turned over readily. Before she could comply with his order, he bunched the thick mass of hair in his fist and tugged gently. She turned her head obligingly. He kept tugging until her head rose and then she was on her elbows looking over her shoulder at him. He sat very still on the side of the bed, holding her hair like reins, admiring the way her full breasts swayed, nipples dragging along the sheets.
“Are you looking at something in particular?” she demanded, her voice miffed.
He grinned at her because he couldn’t help it. “Yes. I am looking at the love of my life.” Her body was flushed a beautiful rose color. Her green eyes were slumberous. Sexy. Her bottom was up in the air, waiting for him, while her breasts swayed gently in temptation. She squirmed. Bucked her hips. Did a slow circle with them.
“I’m waiting here.”
“I see that.” His palm caressed her right breast. Teased at her nipple, tugging gently. He watched the beauty that happened. How her face changed. Her expression. The swift intake of breath. Using her hair, he guided her mouth to his. The fire had gone hotter than ever.
He took his mouth off hers, barely a scant half inch. “Do not move, Lorraine. I want you just like this.”
“You’d better hurry, or I’m going to try out one of the many Carpathian spells you all whip up on a dime.”
He wasn’t certain what that meant, and in any case, he didn’t feel the need to hurry so he took his time moving around behind her. Gathering her hair again, he pulled her head toward him until her back was down and her bottom was up. One handed, he pushed her thighs farther apart. Keeping her hair tight in his fist so she couldn’t move, he began using his fingers and occasionally dipping his head down to use his mouth, teeth and tongue, driving her up where he wanted her, but keeping that fire from igniting.
“Andor.” His name was a wail. A groan. He smiled and added his fingers, just to keep that burn right on the edge. “Do something. Anything. Hurry, honey.”
He liked the way she gave him an endearment. He liked the way she pleaded, that soft moan that told him she was very, very close.
He entered her fast and hard, a deep thrust that sent her right over the edge. Immediately his cock was surrounded with her scorching hot sheath. She was liquid fire, tight gripping muscles, paradise taking him in. He moved, feeling the streaks of fire racing up his spine, racing up hers. He closed his eyes to savor the heat, the experience unlike anything else, but she was there as well, behind his lids, her body writhing around his.
She cried out as the ripples grew, so intense, spreading through her body, so that her tight sheath massaged and gripped his shaft as he pounded into her. He thought gentle in his mind, but his body betrayed him, taking charge, giving both of them what they wanted—and needed. He held out against the wild waves crashing through her and around him. And then her body clamped down viciously, a vise of perfection, wringing him dry.
Andor came down over top of her as she collapsed under him. She lay breathing hard, his body weighting her down, blanketing her. He knew he should move, but he couldn’t find the energy. It took minutes to control his heart and breathing because, honestly, he wasn’t trying very hard. He enjoyed everything about making love to Lorraine, even this aftermath, where their hearts beat out of control and their lungs burned raw.
He threaded his fingers through hers on either side of her head. She had her eyes closed, and when he lifted his head enough to set his chin on her back so he could watch her, those lashes of hers did the flutter thing he found mesmerizing.
“I’m too tired to go teach self-defense. I think Bella could kick my butt,” she murmured.
“Who do you plan to teach first? The women or the little ones?” He rubbed his jaw along her back, and then watched with satisfaction as her skin turned pink from the tiny stubble shadowing his jaw.
“If the little ones are still up when I get out there, I’ll give them a lesson. Genevieve said if I tired them out for her, she’d pay me top babysitting wages.”
“Um, csecsemõ, you have no more need of money. We are very wealthy by human standards.”
“I’m not really going to take her money, silly. She was teasing me. And I do need a bank account. All of you should have one if you’re going to appear human.”
“It is bad enough that Tariq is photographed so widely,” he objected. “Sooner or later he must appear to grow old, and he will have to move on so as not to be discovered.”
“Leaving your property to yourself, to an identity you choose before you pretend to die, can be done over and over. I don’t see that it will be harmful as long as he’s careful. I need air. Are you going to move?”
“No.” His hand smoothed down her hip, over her butt and down one thigh. “You have to learn to regulate your breathing. You are not going to suffocate. Think of filling your lungs with air. It will come to you.”
“I see. This is training.”
“Yes. And you are doing very well, Lorraine. So far you have not panicked.”
“There are other ways to train me in filling my lungs various ways, you know.”
Again, he closed his eyes at the suggestive temptation in her voice. The moment he did, he found her there, the image of her on her knees in front of him, his cock down her throat, holding
there while she learned air could find her lungs when needed. His cock stirred all over again. It hadn’t taken much. The thought of that mouth surrounding him with heat and fire made him harder than ever. His hand stroked her bottom again and then slid lower, between her legs, fingers whispering over her sensitive clit.
“Are you trying to get out of teaching those little girls?”
“Yes. Absolutely. If you give me a training lesson, no one can say anything about me being late. I have a really good excuse. I can start their training tomorrow night, unless I don’t get this first lesson right away.”
Her hips moved, pressing her pelvis deeper into the mattress. He smiled against her back. “I do not know. This lesson may be too advanced. I doubt very much if you can get it in one try.”
“I’m willing to do my best.”
He slid off her back and rolled over, one hand circling his thick shaft. His erection felt heavy, his need growing. He liked the way she played. The way she made everything fun. Making memories where he had very little. They were all about her. His lifemate. He had no idea how he’d survived without her. When she knelt in front of him, took him into her mouth, swallowing him deep, lips stretched around him and her green eyes staring up at him, he didn’t know if he would even survive with her.
APPENDIX 1
Carpathian Healing Chants
To rightly understand Carpathian healing chants, background is required in several areas:
The Carpathian view on healing
The Lesser Healing Chant of the Carpathians
The Great Healing Chant of the Carpathians
Carpathian musical aesthetics
Lullaby
Dark Sentinel Page 38