Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

her hips. "And it was an order."
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    The three males hung their heads in unison, looking for all the world like naughty little boys. "I am sorry, cara ."
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    Aidan took the blame squarely on his broad shoulders. "I could not resist the little creature."
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    "Little? You call that little ! It's a moose!"
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    Stefan pushed out his chest. "No, Alexandria, it wasn't Aidan. I saw the little thing, and young Joshua's face was so bright, I just had to get it."
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    "Little? Are we talking about the same animal here? That dog is not little. It is huge. Did either of you two pushovers take a look at the paws on that thing? They're bigger than my head!"
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    Joshua burst out laughing. "No way, Alex. He's really cute. You are gonna let me keep him, aren't you? You just have to. Stefan says he'll be a good guard dog someday. He says he'll look after me and be a friend if I treat him right."
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    "And in the meantime, he's going to eat like a horse every day." Alexandria swept a hand through her hair, her smile fading. "I don't know, Josh. I barely make enough money to feed the two of us, let alone whatever that thing is."
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    Aidan lifted the boy to the ground and circled Alexandria's waist with one arm. "Have you forgotten, cara ? You promised to marry me. I think I can cover the cost of the dog food."
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    "You mean it, Aidan?" Joshua shouted, jumping up and down. "You mean it, Aidan? You're really gonna marry Alex? And I can keep my dog?"
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    "You'd sell me out for a dog?" Alexandria demanded, catching Joshua around the neck in mock aggression.
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    "Not just a dog, Alex, but this neat house and Stefan and Marie, too. Plus, you won't have to work for that bozo."
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    "Bozo?" Alexandria turned slowly and regarded Aidan with glittering blue eyes. "Now, how would an innocent little boy come up with a descriptive word like that?"
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    Aidan smiled at her, a sweet, innocent smile that should have made her feel like laughing but instead sent heat curling through her body. She tilted her chin. "You're lethal," she accused him.
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    He framed her face with his large hands and lowered his head slowly, purposefully. "I would hope so," he murmured right before his mouth claimed hers, sweeping her into their own private world.

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    But Alexandria was soon reminded they were not alone. "Holy moly," Joshua said in a loud whisper. "Can you believe that, Stefan?"
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    "Never saw such a display," Stefan admitted.
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Chapter Seventeen
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    The sun was unusually large in the sky, gleaming a strange red. There was little wind, few clouds, and the ocean itself was tranquil, the surface like glass. Beneath the earth, a heart began to beat.
    Soil shifted, churned, then spewed like a geyser from the secret chamber beneath Aidan's house.
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    He lay still, his great body drained of strength. Beside him, as silent and still as death, lay Alexandria. Aidan's eyes snapped open, fury burning in their depths at the disturbance to his sleep. Outside his home, somewhere close, something evil lurked in the bright sunlight on the peaceful afternoon.
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    He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his arms folded across his chest. He sent himself seeking outside his body and into the air itself. It took intense concentration and focus to be bodiless, completely without form. He moved upward through the chamber and passed through the heavy trapdoor. Passing through solids was disorienting, a strange wrenching of atoms and molecules, and Aidan mentally shook himself. He had experimented with this process and often found the complete separation of body and mind difficult. In the other forms he took, his body was different but still with him. With only his mind and soul, his senses were altered. Sounds were strangely distorted, as he had no ears, and he couldn't actually touch anything, passing straight through it if he tried, causing a slightly sickening sensation. As he had no stomach, the nausea was even stranger.
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    Yet it was imperative to stay completely focused; it was essential not to allow himself to be disturbed by the unwanted sensations. He traveled along the rock tunnel deep within the earth. It always seemed so narrow, his shoulders nearly brushing the sides, but without his body, the space was enormous, another sensory distortion.
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    He passed through the door leading to the basement. Already the dark, oppressive evil that had awakened