“What is it?”
“I have my mother’s wedding rings. I always thought I would wear them. There are no rings on any of your fingers. Is that because you shift, or because that is a human ceremony?”
Was there regret in her voice? He didn’t want her to regret anything. “What each Carpathian pair has is different, because we are all different. You are my lifemate and I am yours. If we choose to wear rings, shifting with them is no hardship.”
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, and for the first time, genuine happiness crept into her eyes. “Then I suppose you had better get on with it.”
He frowned. “I missed something.”
“You told me it takes three blood exchanges. We have only had one. If we’re to do this by tomorrow night, you’d better take the second exchange now. Tomorrow you can convert me, right?”
“Lorraine, you haven’t had time to process. You like to take things slow.”
“I’ve been thinking about it since you first told me I would have to become Carpathian. What do I have left to me? My family is dead. All of them. I have no friends. No other relatives. I have you and Ferro and Sandu. I have Gary. I hope to fit in here, but if I don’t, and you’re willing, we can go somewhere else together. I know I want to be with you.”
Andor couldn’t stop himself from gathering her into his arms. In spite of wanting to make certain, so that she would never have regrets, he nuzzled her neck with his mouth. “Csecsemõ, I want this for us, but you have to be so sure. There will be pain during the conversion. I can be there through it with you, so will the others to try to take most of it, but we cannot prevent all of it.”
“The alternative isn’t that great. Besides, I’ve had this taste in my mouth all night and I want to see if it’s as good as I remember.”
His tongue slid over her pounding pulse. His teeth scraped gently over the spot beckoning him. More than anything, he wanted to make love to her, but his body needed healing and he wasn’t a man to do things by halves. He sank his teeth deep, allowing her to experience more of that erotic bite, the flash of pain giving way to nothing but pure pleasure.
He hadn’t known how erotic feeding from one’s lifemate could be. His body nearly went up in flames, his blood pooling hotly in his groin. His mind found hers, and she was slick with need, her nipples pebbling, pushing against his chest while her body moved restlessly. He took his time, savoring every drop. Her taste was the finest he’d ever experienced and the craving was difficult to resist, but he forced himself to stop when he’d taken enough.
It was her turn, and his entire body clenched in anticipation. The moment her mouth moved on his skin, he threw his head back and roared. She had his entire body hard and hungry. So needy. This, then, was what sex was all about. The craving. The hunger. The drive that was so strong there was no resisting it.
We had better turn you fast, sívamet, or we both will not survive the taking of blood.
Her fingers stroked caresses over his skin, along the walls of his mind and, sun scorch the woman, over his groin.
You are not helping.
Oh no, was I supposed to be helping? I thought I was supposed to be showing you what we’re missing. You need to heal fast. That’s all I’m saying here.
Her fingers kept stroking, and the sane part of him knew he needed to stop her. Mostly he wasn’t sane at all.
13
You’re clearly wearing too many clothes.
Lorraine’s voice brushed along the walls of his mind so intimately Andor’s cock threatened to explode. She was right—he was wearing far too many clothes. He needed the physical touch of her fingers against his rock-hard flesh. Her hand slid over him, rubbed right over his trousers, and he felt the jerk and throb of pure need.
He waved his hand and he was completely bare to her. He couldn’t take the feel of her clothing rubbing on his skin. He wanted her naked as well. It took less than a second to achieve that. Her laughter was gentle, teasing in his mind.
That was not the plan. It was supposed to be you naked and needing me. Now it is both. How do we get out of this?
He gently inserted his hand between her mouth and his chest when he knew she had taken enough for a full blood exchange. His heart beat faster at the knowledge she was one step closer to his world—and to him. His body felt on the very edge of control. Even though she was no longer taking his blood, he needed her more than ever.
She obeyed the small command to stop feeding, but kissed her way down his chest to his belly. Everywhere she kissed, she left behind a trail of fire. Her hair brushed over his thighs as she slid to the floor, wedging herself between his legs, her mouth continuing its travels. The feeling of that silky mass sweeping over his body sent more hot blood rushing to his cock until he was so full and thick he felt it all the way to his toes.
He bunched her hair in his fist so he could see her face. He needed to watch her as she kissed her way over his groin. That hungry, intense desire was in her eyes. He loved that look. He knew he would keep that image with him always. She dropped her head lower, and he felt her breath, warm, against the crown of his cock. Small droplets leaked out, enticing her. For a moment, he thought she might swallow him down, but instead, she licked up his balls and then his shaft.
His entire body shuddered with need. He tightened his hold in her hair, this time to guide her where he needed her most. She lifted those long lashes, and stared up at him with sparkling green eyes. Teasing. She was teasing him. His cock jerked in anticipation. Life with Lorraine was always going to be an adventure because she did the unexpected.
We need to be very careful, she reminded. The healer told you to go to ground immediately. He was worried about your wounds.
He’d forgotten he had any wounds. Blood pounded through his cock. His heartbeat centered in his groin. There was a strange roaring in his ears. Every cell in his body felt alive. Anticipating. Waiting. He found he was holding his breath until his lungs burned.
“Lorraine.” Her name was a command. A powerful one. It came out hoarse. Almost desperate. Not nearly as authoritative as he thought it should have, as desperate as he was.
Her warm breath slid over him again so that his muscles tightened. Her eyes laughed happily and that caught at him. In that moment, there was only the two of them, the rest of the world locked out. Every problem. It was Lorraine and Andor.
Then her mouth engulfed him and there was no sane thought. Her mouth was hot and wet, sliding over him tightly. Her tongue danced and stroked. She did some kind of humming that sent vibrations right through his shaft, blowing out the top. It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen, her mouth moving over him as she knelt there between his legs.
“Keep your eyes on mine, sívamet.”
Watching her watch him, as she gave him so much pleasure, was just plain erotic. That was another image he never wanted to lose. Those green eyes devoured him the way her mouth swallowed him. Tight and hot. Her tongue stripped him of thought so he was pure feeling. His hips began to move, small thrusts, taking him deeper. He was careful and very gentle, but his centuries of control and discipline were gone with every stroke of her tongue.
Flames teased at the base of his cock—sizzled at the base of his spine. Her mouth slid over him again, so tight. So hot. Flames rushed up from his toes, his calves, and then danced up his thighs to lick at his balls. The heat was tremendous. The fire burned up his spine, coiled in his belly, and burst into a firestorm as his cock erupted like a volcano. Jet after jet. Rope after rope. The hot seed exploded from him. He threw back his head and roared, even while he fought to stay in eye contact with her.
She sank back onto her heels wiping at her mouth, her eyes smiling at him. Apparently, you like sex, Andor.
Like was not the word he would use. His pulse struggled to return to a calm, steady beat. He waited until he could breathe before answering her. “Apparently, I love sex. I have learned a lot over the centuries. We study everything in order to please our lifema
tes. I think I can manage to please you as you have me.”
“The healer said you needed to go to ground.”
“The healer can go to ground. I still have some night left and I intend to make use of it.” He was watching her carefully and saw the small hint of apprehension. “What is it, Lorraine?” He beckoned to her and pointed to the spot between his legs. She hesitated, but she moved forward again. Her breasts brushed against his thighs and then his groin. A jolt of awareness teased his cock. Her skin was like satin. “What is it, csecsemõ, you have only to tell me.”
Her hand moved. Fingers slid over the inside of his thigh and caressed his shaft. She had no trouble touching him or putting her mouth on him, but now, she was unexpectedly shy.
“I didn’t expect to have sex with you, Andor. Not right away. I know that you’ve been wounded and I thought I had time …” She trailed off with a small frown.
He rubbed the curve of her mouth with the pad of his thumb. “Are you afraid?” She wasn’t afraid of very much, and she’d been the one to initiate oral sex on him.
She shook her head. “I’ve been camping. There aren’t a lot of chances to get clean. You just wave your hand and you’re all fresh and smell like heaven. I’m pretty certain I smell like a skunk or something equally horrendous.”
He wanted to laugh. She could do that so easily. That faint humor in her voice told him, although it mattered to her, she still was able to laugh at the situation and herself. More reasons to fall harder for her.
“I was thinking you could do more hand waving, but toward me, this time.”
Now her laughter was in her eyes. He couldn’t help responding. The hand wave came, but she didn’t need it. She never did. To him, she smelled earthy and perfect. He tipped her face up to his and bent to take her mouth. Kissing her was another kind of heaven he hadn’t expected. There was that fire in her mouth she’d spread over his cock. He burned with her for a few minutes and then he gathered her into his arms and floated them to the main bedroom.
The bed was already made up in anticipation of Lorraine’s arrival. He made a mental note to thank Charlotte for her welcoming of Lorraine into the compound. The bedding was soft and he lay his woman right in the center, coming down over top of her, feeling the give in the thick comforter but the firmness of the mattress beneath. Her hair spread across the white comforter, looking more red than brown, the golden tones gleaming from the moonlight spilling in through the windows. Her green eyes were steady on his. Those lashes, feathery and dark, tipped with gold, fluttered, drawing attention to the beauty of her face.
Andor framed her face, his hips wedged between hers, his gaze moving over her possessively. He had never felt possessive in his life. He was all about duty and honor. Material things meant little or nothing to him. Carpathians acquired wealth to use as tools. He knew they owned several planes to take them from one continent to the another. That required money, but keeping up with the modern world meant they had to have the means to do so. Right now, the only possession that mattered, the only thing in his world he would die to keep, was Lorraine.
I am not a possession, silly man.
The tenderness in her voice nearly undid him. Emotion welled up, sharp and terrible, a love so strong and intense, it was unlike anything he’d ever felt or experienced.
And if you died to save me, we would not be together, so no dying, she added.
There was that humor. He had that. He was given that. A woman so beautiful inside and out. A warrior of true measure. Intelligent and possessing a sense of humor. She had it all and somehow, the universe had deigned to give her to him.
Her gaze drifted over his face, touching him with love. He felt it. She didn’t need to say it, because it was there in the way she looked at him.
“Kiss me again, Andor. I love when you kiss me.”
She sounded both needy and wanton. Tempting him. His little siren. He kissed her because there was no resisting her, and he didn’t want to. He craved her kisses. He loved the way she made his body hard and demanding. He let that take them both, a slow burn that started with just worshiping her mouth. Nibbling. Biting. Licking. Tracing that sensual bow. Breathing and exchanging breath.
Lying over her body, her skin sliding under his, so soft, sensations crashed through him until he felt every inch of her inside and out. He framed her face with his hands, that face that made him ache with need, burn with hunger and soar with emotion, with love for her. He dipped his head and pressed kisses up her throat and over her chin to the corners of her mouth. He tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth, very gently, savoring every awareness of his body and hers—as well as the differences between them.
He kissed her again and again, conveying without words what was in his heart. He had no idea a man could feel so much for a woman. He had lived long, century after century, and he had touched the minds of men in love. He had even shared, for a moment, Dragomir’s love of Emeline. Still, that hadn’t prepared him for the way he felt toward Lorraine.
When he had uttered the ritual binding words, tying them together for all time, he had given her his heart. He had given her his soul. He hadn’t thought what those words meant until that moment, kissing her, absorbing her into his mind and body. Her taste. Her feel. Every inch of her. He had been created for her. He knew that with absolute certainty.
You’re going to make me cry.
You worried that I did not choose you, that you would not have been my choice. You worried you would never know love.
You see too much.
He lifted his head to look down at her, his gaze drifting over the beautiful bone structure and feathery lashes. Over the woman who owned his heart and soul—who always would have them in her keeping.
I see you, Lorraine. Never think for one moment that you are not my choice. That you are not in my heart. I cannot see anything or anyone but you.
He could have spoken aloud, but it was so much more intimate speaking telepathically. She would feel his heart, his love for her, with every stroke along her mind his words created. Tears glistened on the tips of her lashes and he took them off with his lips.
I see only you, Andor, she replied. She arched up, pressing her breasts into his chest, her hips bucking a little as if her body was as equally hungry for his.
He could hear the truth of her words—and also the little hint of surprise. He liked that as well, the flavors in her voice. She hadn’t expected to love him so quickly. She didn’t understand the pull of lifemates, but she knew it was there. More importantly, she had deliberately studied him, once he told her about the concept and that she was his. Lorraine had gone into his mind and tried to learn who and what he was—what he was about. He could have told her. His character was wrapped up in one word—honor.
She nipped his chin with her teeth. Loyalty as well. Honor and loyalty. There are so many more, Andor, all good, all traits that appeal to me. I believe in honor and loyalty as well.
He knew that. He dipped his head to the temptation of her breast. The moment his tongue flicked her nipple, she jumped. He lifted his head to look at her quickly, judging her reaction. “You’re very sensitive.”
“In a good way.”
He smiled at her and once more ducked his head toward her breast. He took the time to know every inch of both breasts. The curves were very pronounced, those round mounds that came to a peak he liked to flick and tease with his fingers before he suckled, pressing her nipple to the roof of his mouth and stroking with his tongue until she cried out and writhed beneath him.
He touched her mind to feel what she was feeling. Her body was slick and hot with desire, needing him. Just as she had made his body come alive, every nerve ending on fire, he was doing the same to hers. He kissed his way back to up to her mouth as he reached for one of her legs, wrapping it around him, opening her more fully to him. He took the other leg, lifting it, encouraging her to do the same with her left one, until she had hooked her ankles at the small of his back.
He
touched her mind once again. There was no trepidation. His woman was fearless and eager. Needy. He circled the heavy girth of his cock with his fist, fitting the broad head against her slick entrance. The heat scorched him. Drew him. He needed, too. He pushed deeper and both shuddered at the same time as the overwhelming sensation threatened to drown them in pleasure.
Her tight muscles fought him, and then slowly relented, allowing him to push deeper so that he felt his cock was gripped firmly in a silken, hot fist. He threw his head back, savoring that feeling, filing it away with so many others she’d given him. This was the ultimate, that slow burning heat surrounding him, welcoming him, trying to keep him out, yet pulling him in. Beckoning. Tempting. The sensations poured over him. Into him. Filling him. Filling all those tattered and torn places in him until he was whole.
He threaded his fingers through hers and pushed her hands into the mattress beside her head, looking down, straight into her eyes. He held her that way, pinned beneath him, his eyes holding hers captive. Tet vigyázam. He repeated it so she would hear him. Understand him. Never doubt again. Tet vigyázam. He dipped his head to brush a kiss across her mouth. At the same time, he thrust his hips hard, burying himself deep, driving through her thin barrier to claim every inch of her. Wanting body, heart and soul.
She gasped and went stiff, frozen beneath him. He kept still as well, refusing to release her gaze. Tet vigyázam means I love you, Lorraine. And I do. My language or yours. Any language. I love you. I do not want there to be any doubts in your mind. Not now. Not ever. Whatever happens, we do this together.
He felt her body slowly relax around his. That vise gripping him eased enough for him to move. Her smile was tentative, but it was there. I know I am falling in love with you, Andor. Everything about you, even the fact that you will want me to sleep beside you in the ground.
He wanted that. He did. When she was beside him, no harm could come to her. He set a rhythm. Gently. Tenderly. His heart had turned inside out. His soul, that part of it she had guarded through centuries for him, shone a light so bright and hot, so strong, he felt as if he was burning from the inside out.
Dark Sentinel ('Dark' Carpathian Book 32) Page 24