"I don't think I can."
"You need to breathe and I'm heavy. I'm going to sit up and put you on my lap." Even as he said it, he didn't give her a chance to protest. She worried about their combined cream spilling out of her body, ruining the couch, but it was gone as he lifted her and put her on his lap. She was naked in his arms, and she felt more exposed and vulnerable in her mind and heart than with her body unclothed.
"Now, Emeline, look at me."
This time his gentle voice included that note of command. Sometimes, when she heard it, like now, she wanted to disobey just to see what he would do.
Dragomir laughed softly. "I see I am going to have an eternity of my woman challenging me. Do not worry, sivamet, I welcome the skirmishes."
The notes of joy and happiness in his voice allowed her to look at him. She couldn't help smiling. It didn't matter that she had taken his blood and enjoyed it or that she had been the sexual aggressor in the beginning, he was happy. She wanted him that way. The lines in his face had softened and he had laughed. Laughed. He barely smiled, almost as if his mouth didn't know how to form that upward curve, but he was laughing. She felt the way he was happy. Deep inside, she felt that and knew she'd given that to him. Everything else melted away for her and she hugged that tightly to herself.
"I can't believe I have you here with me," she whispered and turned her face into his throat, nuzzling him. Inhaling. Tasting his skin with her tongue. "My life was pain and terror. You took away his voice. You gave me hope that my daughter would survive and others wouldn't shun her. I was terrified and alone, and you changed all that. You brought beauty and hope back into my life. Thank you for that, Dragomir. I swear I will spend every minute making you happy."
He bunched her hair at the nape of her neck in his fist and gently tugged until her head went back and she found herself looking into his golden eyes. "You gave me back my soul, Emeline. You gave me life. The scales are more than even. Much more. Still, having you make me happy sounds good, especially since I am very aware I am not an easy man."
A frisson of alarm slid down her spine. Small. A cautioning. An awareness. She frowned. He'd warned her before. He looked scary. Outside, around others, he acted scary, but he'd never been anything but gentle with her. "You've said that before. What do you mean?"
Slowly, she sat up on his lap, pulling herself reluctantly out of his arms. If they were going to talk, she was going to have the armor of clothes. She looked around for her gown. It was a beautiful gown. Dragomir had given it to her.
"I made it for you."
Her eyebrow shot up. The gown was beautiful, in material and design. "How? Are you telling me you can manufacture clothing along with everything else you can do?"
He nodded. "I wish I didn't have to tell you the truth because I like the way you look at me, as if I can do anything, but actually, Emeline, you can manufacture clothing for yourself or anyone else. When you rise with the sinking sun, you think about being clean and what clothes you want to wear for the night."
She felt a small smile welling up. "What? No shower? I was looking forward to showering with you. That can be . . . sexy."
"Show me."
The growling demand sent another shiver down her spine, but this one was delicious. Fun. Sensual. She did her best, picturing the fantasy she'd had more than once. Maybe a few too many times. Him lifting her, her legs wrapped around his hips. The water running down over both of them. Her mouth on his cock. His mouth between her legs. It was embarrassing, yet she wanted him to see the things she'd thought about long before he claimed her.
While the scenes played out in her head and he saw them in detail, more, he felt them, his cock grew hard and thick. She felt the hot pulsing against her bare buttocks. If they kept this up, neither was going to be able to resist the other. They wouldn't dare go out in public. She moved deliberately, sliding her body over him in a slow, sensual massage.
"I see the benefits of a shower," he said.
"Good." She slid off his lap, down to the floor. "I'm glad you're wise enough to see some of the things humans do can be very beneficial." She caught his knees and tugged.
Dragomir obeyed her silent urging, allowing her to widen his thighs so her body could fit between them. "I have seen, over the centuries, many men sitting while their women knelt on the floor at their feet. I always thought it was strange, but I can see there is advantage in that as well."
She smirked at him. "It's good you're willing to learn, Dragomir."
"Very willing."
He circled the base of his cock with his fist and did a slow, sexy slide. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He leaned back just slightly, and the tension he always carried in his shoulders and face was gone. Those scars on his face were softer and his jaw wasn't so strong. He was beautiful to her, just like that. All male, his cock in his fist, so sexy her heart pounded and her sex clenched hard.
She couldn't help herself--the temptation was irresistible. She leaned forward, her hands on his knees, and licked at the flared head. A shudder went through his body and pleasure flooded her mind. She loved that she could feel what she was doing to him. She saw herself in his eyes. He found her the sexiest creature on the face of the earth. He loved watching her body, the sway of her breasts, the hardness of her nipples telling him she loved what she was doing.
He watched intently as his cock disappeared, engulfed by her mouth. He loved the way her lips stretched over his girth. He liked watching her tongue lick up his shaft and dance under the crown of the head. Every movement of her mouth brought scorching heat rushing through his body, centering in his groin.
She felt everything he felt, and her body reacted. She was giving him paradise. She liked that she could take everything from his mind and replace it with--her. With heat and flames. With passion and fire. With sheer pleasure. It was an indulgence, something he'd never experienced. She loved that she could give that to him. She loved the moment he couldn't think clearly, yet he was still gentle, even while his hips moved just that bit out of control.
She knew she was giving him a kind of ecstasy he never expected from her. Complete giving. All for him. Everything for him. She loved the way her image was in his mind, branded there, her kneeling on the floor, hands on his knees, her lips around his cock, eyes on his while her breasts swayed and brushed his body with every movement. She was burned into his mind. That picture. That feeling.
The picture of him above her, the look on his face and the feeling in his mind were burned in her memories for all time. She knew she was just as addicted to this moment as she was to taking his blood or having him in her. She would always crave giving him this, the feeling, the image. She felt him swell, grow hotter. Then she was tasting that wild Dragomir flavor that was unique to him. All for her.
His groan was deep, and one hand went to the back of her head, holding her there, her mouth gentle on him now, her tongue lapping up every drop that had leaked. His breathing had gone ragged and his entire body shuddered with pleasure. She'd given him that. Satisfaction was a beautiful thing.
She stayed there on the floor, looking up at him. Her man. When had that happened? How? She might never feel she deserved him, but she did know, just by the way he saw her in his mind, that he would always be happy with her.
"We were talking about something but I can't remember what it was," she said. "I got distracted. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all." He watched her tongue lick at her lips as she sank back onto her heels. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Throughout the centuries, I've seen quite a few women, but none of them compared with you."
The wonderful thing was, being in his mind, she knew the compliment was sincere. He honestly felt she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He was nuts, but that was all right with her. She smiled up at him, because he made her happy. She couldn't believe how he had changed her life in such a short time.
"I had dreams of you, Dragomir. First, daytime fantasies like the shower,
and then I was horrified when I began to dream that you died trying to save me. I dreamt of Vadim coming and you were lying on the floor of my living room, wounds everywhere, so much blood gone, and I thought you were dead."
Her heart hurt just thinking about it. There was a huge knot in her throat, one she couldn't swallow. The idea of his death because of her had weighed on her.
"I didn't want to ever meet you, and I went into my house the moment night came so there was no chance that you would try to save me--and yet you still did."
"You ended the dream with me lying on your floor." He reached out and caught her hair in his hand, tugging gently.
She nodded. "I couldn't go past that moment, with you lying without a heartbeat, no air in your lungs and your blood soaking into my floor. Because of me."
"Had you forced yourself to keep going--"
"No." She shook her head, uncaring that the action caused her hair to pull at her scalp. "I couldn't. I tried to save you, Dragomir, but you just wouldn't let me."
"Good thing, too." He leaned down to brush a kiss on top of her head. "Your dreams interest me. Tell me about them."
"I've always had them." She nuzzled his thigh because she couldn't help herself. His body was warm and hard. It was hers. He'd given himself to her. All that he was. She liked sitting on the floor, her body between his legs, surrounded by him. There was safety in it. There was also the heady realization that this man was hers and anything she did, any way she touched him, he was fine with.
"I started having dreams when I was fairly young. I really didn't notice at first, but somewhere along the line I realized that some of the places I went to I'd already dreamt about. Once I was paying attention, it wasn't only places, but what was happening in my dreams, taking place in reality days or weeks after. That was terrifying to a child. I thought maybe my imagination was causing things to happen. When you're alone and scared and hungry, people can be cruel. In retaliation, I would think bad thoughts about them and if I dreamt about it later, I was so terrified I was making bad things happen to those I didn't like."
"Sivamet." He murmured it softly. The hand in her hair was soothing and gentle, stroking caresses down the silk of her hair.
She wasn't used to compassion, and tears burned behind her eyes. Joyful tears. She'd never known what that was until that moment. Dragomir changed her perspective on everything.
"I would dream something bad, and if it hadn't happened, I would treat the dream as if it would happen. I'd call it up every night, changing little details. I found I couldn't change what happened, but I could modify it. I could change the way I reacted. So I'd play the dream over and over in my head and change little things until I could change the outcome of the dream. Most of the time, the dream didn't spill over into reality, but the times it did, I was ready and I knew exactly what to do."
"Tell me about having the dream where you went down into Vadim's underground city."
She felt her brain shut down. She didn't want to relive that nightmare ever again. Not even for Dragomir. She shook her head.
His palm cupped the side of her face, his thumb trailing over her high cheekbone. "I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important, sivamet. I am here with you. He can't get to you or our daughter. You're safe now. Detach yourself and just tell me the dream. Tell it as if it remained a dream."
For him. Emeline knew she would do anything for him, even things that were difficult for her. If he wanted or needed this from her, she would tell him. He hadn't offered to help distance her from the dream, so she knew he wanted her complete version.
"The dreams started years before it actually occurred. My dreams don't always happen in real life, even the recurring ones, so I never know what is real or not. I wasn't certain, at first, if that particular dream would happen, although it was vivid and night after night I dreamt it. One day I came across vampires killing in an alleyway and I knew they were real despite everyone I told wanting to lock me up."
She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. "The dream reoccurred over and over. The girls were taken down into the city. Liv was eaten alive night after night by Vadim's puppets. Blaze and I couldn't stop it. We couldn't save her in time. Amelia was taken by the vampires and they drained her of blood and left her dying in a corner. Bella . . ." She broke off, pressing a trembling hand to her mouth. "They eventually fed her to the same puppets that ate her sister. And Danny was used for days as food for the vampires. Blaze and I went into the tunnels nightly to try to change the course of what happened. We did little things at first and found what tools we needed. How fast we had to run, what would be behind a door when we got to it. I repeated the dream night after night and shared it with Blaze."
"How did you share it with Blaze?"
Emeline frowned. She hadn't thought about trying to explain that. "I can do it easily. I could do it with you. I think it's the same way we get into each other's minds."
Dragomir sat straight abruptly, the action causing her heart to jump. His eyes went from lazy and languid to sharp and demanding, the gold going bright and hot, glittering with intelligence. "You can get into people's minds? Anyone's? You could do that before you were converted?"
She chewed on her lower lip until his finger rubbed along it, easing the bite, making her conscious of what she was doing. "I don't think I get into people's minds. It's when I'm dreaming. I can reach out to anyone around me."
"If I were connected at that time to others, all those in this compound, could you share your dream with them all?"
"Of course. It isn't like it requires tremendous effort on my part. I reach out, just the way I do when I want to connect with you. If Blaze was a distance away, it would be more difficult, but if you were connected to her, or Maksim, and I shared with either one of you, the dream would be easy to give her as well." Her voice rang with confidence because she was confident.
He nodded. "How would Vadim know this about you? He did, didn't he? When he had you prisoner, he had to have mentioned it."
She nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on his mouth. She hadn't told any of them, not even Blaze. No one. She had been terrified that whatever Vadim wanted her to do, the Carpathians would either kill her to keep her from doing, or want it for themselves. She had told herself numerous times that was a leftover fear from her childhood--that no one wanted her, the woman, only what she could do for them.
"He did ask me. I refused to answer."
"Even when he tortured you and tried to get the answer out of you. How did he know?"
"I went to the Morrison Psychic Center for testing. I put down that I could share my dreams. It was so stupid of me. I thought it was for fun, like those psychics at fairs. I kind of thought it would be funny to have a real ability but to pretend I didn't. It was the worst mistake of my life and started everything."
"I'm grateful for your mistake. I wouldn't have you had you not made it."
12
The water on the lake was like glass. Emeline had never been on it, or even on the dock around it. She found it was peaceful and gorgeous. All of her life she'd been drawn to the night--until she'd gone into that underground city and realized that monsters were lurking in every shadow. Walking hand in hand with Dragomir gave her back a sense of peace and serenity to the night. He kept her tucked in close to him, her fingers threaded through his, and he took her straight to the lake.
She loved the way the moon appeared silver in the dark sky. Stars were scattered overhead as if thrown haphazardly, yet they formed unique patterns. The sounds of insects and frogs added to the beauty of the place. "I can understand why Tariq chose this place to build," she said. "He has everything. The lake and the woods, yet he's close to the city."
"It's also easily defensible. Maksim owns the property to the south, and I told him we'd buy up as much of the property toward his east as possible."
"You need a lot of money for that," she cautioned.
"I have lived centuries. Even before I entered the monastery, I had wealth. Most
Carpathians do. You learn what is needed and you acquire it."
"Good to know. I don't have a penny to my name. Not really. I work, so I have a bank account. Or rather I did work before all this vampire nonsense, but I didn't acquire actual wealth."
He looked down at her, waited until she looked up and smiled. "You've acquired it now. You can have anything you want. Go anywhere you want."
"I want to go out on the lake. In a canoe or the rowboat. Or the paddleboat. I've never done either one and the minute I saw the lake and the boats, I knew I wanted those experiences."
"I think we can do that tonight. How is little Carisma feeling? She making you sick?" He stopped abruptly and took a step in front of her, forcing her to stop as well. He put both hands over her tummy.
"She's feeling good," Emeline said. She couldn't help but smile. The baby seemed happy and content. She kicked and stretched a little, the feeling as if butterfly wings brushed her insides, but there was no sickness at all.
Good evening, little Miss Carisma. This is your father talking to you. I hope all is well. I am going to take your mother out onto the lake and I would prefer that you didn't make her sick. You'll like the feeling--it is almost like the rocking chair your mother says you enjoy.
Emeline laughed, the sound shocking her. It was carefree. She'd never been carefree. She hadn't known what it was like not to worry where her next meal was coming from or where she could safely lay her head down at night. Those fears were ingrained in her and stayed with her even after she could work and rent an apartment.
"I love that you talk to her."
He looked a little embarrassed if that was possible with his too-male features and his expressionless mask. She couldn't help smirking. "You're so caught, Dragomir. You only pretend you're a tough guy."
He caught her arm at the elbow and began walking along the dock, back toward the small canoe tied up there. "You worry me, Emeline, that you choose not to see all of me. You have never looked into the things I have done for my people."
"The things you were forced to do to keep our world safe?" She stole a quick glance at his face.
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