Carpathian 02 - Dark Desire

right as he could make it.
    "Don't cry, love," he whispered softly into her throat, his mouth resting over her pulse, his tongue stroking the frantic rhythm. His body clenched; pain and hunger rose until it beat at him, at her. His teeth scraped her neck, a sweet torment for both of them. He nuzzled her breasts, marveling at how soft she was, how perfect. Her bones felt small beneath his seeking hands, yet her muscles were firm and her skin like satin.
    He was trembling now, a shudder of effort to hold back his wild nature, a fine sheen of sweat bathing his body. Sensations and textures danced with swirling colors and heat. After centuries of no emotion, no feeling, after seven years of damnation and pain, Jacques would never forget the feel of this moment. The way she looked, smelled, and felt to his touch, the reluctant love, the sorrow, the matching hunger and desire in her mind was forever etched into his soul.
    Shea felt the change in him, in the way his hands caressed her thighs, the absolute conviction in his mind.
    She felt his fierce hunger, the burning in his body, his urgent need. His body blanketed hers, imprisoned her, his knee effectively parting her legs. Her body clenched hotly as he pressed against her, hard and insistent. Her heart jolted in sudden rebellion, but his mouth was on her breast, driving out sane thoughts.
    With every hot pull of his mouth, moist heat throbbed and beckoned him deeper until he met innocent resistance.
    His mouth reluctantly released her breast, found her pulse, where his tongue swirled erotically. "You are my lifemate." His teeth scraped her soft, creamy flesh. Liquid heat bathed him invitingly. "I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you." His hands found her small hips, cupped her in his palms. His body was a relentless, savage ache of burning hunger. "I give you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be placed above my own for all time."
    "Stop it, Jacques," Shea whispered desperately, feeling every word, every breath weaving them so Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    tightly together that she couldn't tell where he left off and she began.
    "You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care." His teeth sank deep; his body surged into hers. White-hot pain exploded over both of them, leaving shimmering flames leaping high and hot.
    Shea's cry was lost in her throat. She wrapped her arms around his head and cradled him to her.
    Welded together, body, mind, and heart, her life flowing into him, his body took command of hers. He moved—a slow, careful test of her response to him. She was hot and tight, the friction threatening to engulf him in the frenzied, uninhibited sexual mating of a Carpathian male. With effort he controlled himself, savoring the sweet, hot spice of her blood, the velvet fire gripping his body.
    He moved gently, tenderly, a long, sure stroke designed to coax her, to calm him. Her muscles clenched around him, and he surged forward, buried himself deep in her very core, his mouth drawing the essence of her life into his keeping. The world narrowed, receded, until she was his breath, his heart, the blood flowing in his veins. There was no darkness, no shadows, only Shea's body with its heat and flowing colors and leaping flames.
    Shea's soft little keening cries were muffled against him, yet they echoed in his mind. His body craved hers, more and more, harder and faster and deeper. He drove on and on, reaching for the stars, the universe, reaching for the meeting of their souls. Her blood fed his insatiable hunger, no taste ever better, so erotic and perfect that he indulged himself, giving himself up to lust and greed and wave after wave of unbearable pleasure.
    Her body gripped his, shuddered, clenched, and the earth itself seemed to roll and shake. Molten heat coiled around him like a volcano, and he was crying out, his seed spilling into her, his body going up in her flames.
    Jacques became aware of her blood trickling between her breasts. In the ecstasy of the moment, he had neglected to close the tiny pinprick he'd made. His tongue stroked gently, tracing the bright trail, and his body reacted as hard and as needy as ever. Her hunger was in his mind, her desire wrapped in age-old need. "Yes, my love," he whispered against her throat. "Need me the way