Carpathian 05 - Dark Challenge

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    The wind rose around them, gusting at the branches overhead. She closed the tiny pinpricks at his throat with a sweep of her tongue. Very slowly she began to lie back against the tree, her breasts thrusting upward toward the sky, her hips filling his palms as he drove into her. As he stared down at her, he saw the triangle of silky black curls that met his golden down. He was mesmerized by the beauty of their bodies coming together.
    Her muscles clenched, her moist sheath tightening and releasing him until the friction between them was so hot he felt flames dancing over his skin, her skin. He was swelling, growing, thick and hard, and still he wanted to go on.
    Julian . It was the softest of pleas, Desari's beautiful, haunting voice shimmering for release in his mind. It sent him hurtling over the edge, taking her with him so that they clung together as the earth shook and the skies exploded.
    Julian nearly collapsed on top of her, his great strength drained for a moment. His body gleamed in the night air, his golden mane wild around his face. Desari touched his mouth with the tip of her finger in wonder. "How can this be, Julian? How could it be that all these long, lonely centuries, I did not know of this? Why did I not hunger for such a thing?"
    His eyes glittered at her, a warning menace, the ice cold of death itself. "You were made for me, Desari, only me. There was no need for you to seek another."
    She refused to feel intimidated. His face was harsh, a hint of cruelty around his mouth. "Not now. But I have lived long. Why did my body not hunger for this? I read books, heard of things while among humans. Syndil and I talked of such longings, but I have never felt such a need. I have gone centuries without ever knowing the beauty of this. What if you had never found me?"
    Julian's hands tangled in her ebony hair. "You are mine, cara mia , only mine. There is no other who could make your body feel the things I can. And if you tried to experiment, I would have to kill him.
    Make no mistake, Desari, knowledge is a good thing to acquire, but there is no need for you to go to any other. If you wish to try something new, I will oblige you, but I will not tolerate another male near you."
    She shoved at the solid wall of his chest with her palms, glaring at him. "Oh, shut up. I was not contemplating running around with every male I saw. I was just wondering why I had to wait so long."
    Julian refused to move an inch, his heavier frame pinning her beneath him, his body still firmly buried in hers.
    "You waited for me, as you should have. For us there is only one."
    Her eyebrows arched. "Oh really? Then why did Barack use human women in this way? Have you? Be warned, I will not accept a double standard."
    Julian swept back the fall of hair from her forehead, the gesture tender as he bent to brush a kiss on her eyebrow. "Men feel for two hundred years or so, piccola . Some act on their urges, although they are a poor imitation of what we feel for our true mate. True sexual heat comes with the finding of our lifemate.
    It is more than infatuation or chemistry. It is stronger than love or sex. It is a combination of mind, heart, soul, and body. The emotion is so strong, one must always be in proximity to the other."
    Desari was silent for a moment, suddenly aware of how vulnerable she felt. It wasn't just her body so open to his, or the depth of her desire, it was the emotions he evoked in her. Her long lashes swept down Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    to conceal her sudden doubt.
    At once, Julian's hands tightened in her hair. " Cara mia , do not fear our union so much. I will see to your happiness. I could never hurt you. Do you not understand yet?" He captured her hand, brought it to his mouth, and kept it pressed against his finely chiseled lips. "Even if you chose to be with another male, I would never harm you. It would not be possible for me to do such a thing. But I am being honest with you when I tell you I would kill the man. I am a predator. Nothing, not even your light, can change completely what I am. I will allow no one to take you from my side."
    "Does it not scare you, Julian, the intensity of our feelings?" she whispered, her dark eyes clouded. "It frightens me more than anything I have ever encountered. I could not bear to be the cause of another's death.
    I see you struggling with your emotions, those