Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

thumb drew a line over her lower lip.
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    At once her body was throbbing with need. Just like that. He blocked out the cool night air, the very stars, everything but his solid muscles, his heat and strength. Her breasts felt uncomfortably taut; her blood rushed through her body.
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    She could hear his heart pounding. In his veins, blood was singing, calling to her. Hunger gripped her, acute, biting. She tried to pull away, a small moan escaping her. She had been enjoying herself, actually managing to forget for a time that she needed to feed on another being to exist.
    But the realization drowned out everything else, so that the beauty surrounding her was at once barren and ugly. Fear for him surged through her. Planting both palms on his chest, she attempted to shove him away. It was like trying to move a wall of concrete.
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    Aidan simply smiled at her. "Stop fearing what is natural to you. Do you really think you could harm me?" His arms closed tightly around her, and she felt her feet leave the ground. His mouth brushed her ear. "But I do thank you for the concern."
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    Clutching his waist, Alexandria peeked beneath his arm to see the ground dropping away. They floated upward, a lazy, casual motion that struck terror into her heart. "Now might be a good time to tell you I'm afraid of heights," she ventured, her heart thudding loudly in her ears.
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    "No, you are not, little liar. You are simply afraid of things you do not understand. Have you not always dreamed of flying? High above the earth? Look at our world, piccola . Look at the wondrous things you are capable of doing." There was tender amusement in his voice. "You can soar free at your will."
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    "Dreaming about it and doing it are two different things. And I'm not doing it; you're the one in control."
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    His laughter was low and wicked. "Would you like me to let go of you? It is not as if you are not capable of floating on your own."
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    Her fingers twisted convulsively in his shirt. "Don't even joke about it, Aidan." But he never once loosened his hold on her, and she felt safe and protected. Taking a deep breath, Alexandria looked around her.
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    Wisps of fog drifted past her. She wanted to reach out and touch one, just to see if she could, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    but she wasn't quite comfortable enough to relax her death grip on Aidan. The stars glittered overhead, and below her the waves raced across the ocean and crashed on large rocks, spraying white foam in all directions. The droplets looked like sparkling diamonds scattered across the deep blue of the sea. The wind was tugging at the treetops, so that they bowed and swayed, branches waving up at her.
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    Alexandria felt a burst of joy. She felt free. The heavy, oppressive weight crushing down on her was lifted for the moment, and she was laughing, really laughing. The sound of it pierced Aidan's heart, wrapped it up, and squeezed hard. His arms tightened even more. He wanted to hear her laugh like this all the time. The scent of her, the feel of her, was pushing at his control, calling to the wildness in him.
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    She felt the change in him. The way his body stirred against hers, the way it hardened in urgent demand, the possession in his arms as he held her to him. They were on the balcony of his house now, the one that wrapped around the third story, his private quarters. His feet touched down, but hers didn't, and he carried her easily to a plush lounge chair just outside the intricate stained-glass sliding doors.
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    "Aidan!" It was a breathless protest. Panic welled up. She could not be alone like this with him.
    He was too much of a temptation, and she was too vulnerable, her emotions ragged and raw.
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    His mouth skimmed over her eyelids, her cheeks. "Did I not tell you that you should trust me?"
    He settled her on his lap, his hips cradling her bottom. She was pressed against him intimately, and it didn't seem to matter to him that she could feel his violent need of her. Secrets between them did not exist. She could have easily reached into his mind and found the same information.
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    Alexandria shivered, suddenly afraid. There was something different about him, some elemental change she had noticed since he had awakened her this last time. He looked at her differently, as if she was his alone, as if his right to her was complete, unchallenged. There was tenderness but also a deep resolve, a relentless