Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

She saw their gold became heated, the purpose clear in their depths. His hard mouth softened, and very slowly, with infinite patience, he touched his lips Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    to hers, a brief, feather-light stroke that sent a shaft of desire curling painfully through her body.
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    "Just so you remember, seducing men is out," he murmured almost absently against her mouth.
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    She could taste the words. Taste his breath. His mouth was hot and enticing. His body stirred, and she could feel him pressing against her, hard with need. His hand framed the curve of her cheek, his thumb sliding in a caress across her pulse. The wind blew the silken mass of her hair across his hand and arm, binding him to her almost by design.
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    She could smell his scent calling to her, wild and abandoned, like an animal calling to its mate.
    Her entire being responded, against all intellect, all reason, against all sanity. Alexandria had never felt such sexual attraction toward any man, and the intensity of her response to him was beyond her comprehension. This was strong and compelling, hot and steamy, a driving need as elemental as time. She wanted him right there in the night, wild in her arms, needing her.
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    She jerked away from him. "Stop it, Aidan. Just stop." She held up a hand to pacify him. "I'm not ready for this." He was so intense, so much the domineering male, he would sweep her away until she couldn't exist without him. Until she didn't exist without him. "You're not going to take over my life," she whispered to him.
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    He stroked the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. "I barely touched you, cara mia , and you run from me like a rabbit."
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    "Anyone in her right mind would run from you, Aidan. You're talking crazy. It shouldn't matter to you how many lovers I've had—or have. That's my private business. I didn't ask you about your love life, did I?" Suddenly she thought about his arms around another woman, and the idea made her sick. "You're such a hypocrite. In all the centuries you claimed to nave been alive, there's probably been more women than I care to know about. Hundreds." She thought about it.
    "Thousands. You're a dog, Savage. A hound dog." He couldn't help laughing. Reaching out, he took possession of her hand again and began to walk slowly back toward his home. Her hand was small and fragile in his, her skin soft and inviting. The wind, determined to have its way, playfully touched her hair, blowing it across his arm, weaving them together with a hundred silken strands.
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    Alexandria walked along beside him, trying not to feel cherished and protected as he moved alongside her. It was the way he moved—confident, supple, powerful—that made her feel so vulnerable to his possession, yet his fingers were gentle around hers. With every step she took, she became more annoyed that he had access to her personal life.
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    "I think you're getting the wrong idea, Aidan, about me. I may not have actual lovers, but that's only because I haven't loved anyone yet. I've been attracted, though. There's nothing wrong with me."
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    His mouth twitched. Manfully he refrained from smiling, but it was necessary to walk several steps before he could reply in his usual neutral voice. "I never, at any time, thought there was something wrong with you. If you are worried about it, though, I will be happy to demonstrate otherwise."
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    She tugged at her hand. He was too close, too vivid and alive. The chemistry between them was explosive. He couldn't touch her, let alone kiss her. It just wasn't safe. "I'll bet you would. But it isn't going to happen. I have a rule about vampires—I don't get involved with them."

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    His eyebrows shot up. "Good rule. I am pleased you are beginning to show some sense. And you were not attracted to human men."
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    "Thomas Ivan is very attractive."
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    His amber eyes glittered at her. "You thought he was a shark. And that cheap cologne he used made your head ache."
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    "He kind of grows on you," she protested. "We have a lot in common." Her blue eyes held defiance. "His cologne is not cheap. And he's very handsome."
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    All at once his large frame was blocking her path, and she ran right into him, her face pressed into the niche of his sternum. One of his hands circled the slender column of her throat. "Not to you, he is not." His