Carpathian 06 - Dark Fire

each of them to ensure they were well and safe. He assured them, in return, that he was whole and healed and would soon awaken Tempest.
    Darius rose voraciously hungry, and he knew that if all had gone well with Tempest, she would be, also.
    He hunted, choosing prey close to the cave, feeding ravenously, taking enough for both of them. When he returned to the cavern, he prepared for her rising, crushing herbs to fill the air with a soothing aroma, spreading candles so that little flames danced on the walls and flickered invitingly. He made up a thick bed with soft sheets to welcome her.
    Darius descended to her and cradled her in his arms, floated out of the earth, and closed the deep hole so no sign would remain of what might appear to her to be a grave. Tempest looked beautiful even in her sleep. Even more beautiful than he remembered. Her skin was flawless, her hair a mass of thick red-gold silk tumbling around her face. He carried her to the steaming mineral pool and woke her as he lowered her into the water.
    He bent his head to her soft mouth, capturing her first breath as she drew air into her lungs and exhaled.
    She tasted like light and goodness. She tasted like hunger and flame. Her long lashes fluttered, then lifted, so that he was staring into her vivid green eyes. A faint trace of humor crept into the emerald depths. It was amazing what it did to his heart, melting it and simultaneously squeezing it hard. His chest felt inordinately tight, his heart pounding with fear about the consequences of her courageous choice.

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    "So, hopefully, it isn't the deranged thing going on here. I don't have a mad desire to turn upside down and hang from my toes like a bat, but I definitely have a craving." The seductive caress of her voice played over his skin like fingers. Her mind, when he touched it, was a mixture of fear and humor, as if she couldn't quite decide which to go with.
    "It is natural to be hungry, honey," he reassured her, his palm sweeping the silken strands of her hair from her neck. The water was lapping at their skin, bubbles bursting over and around them, creating a sensation of intense pleasure.
    "A bit on the repulsive side, though." She tried to be analytical about it.
    "Do you think?" He bent his head to find the pulse beating in her throat, his tongue stroking a brand, feeling the sudden, impatient expectation. "What does it feel like when I kiss you like this?"
    He was stealing her breath, her sanity. He was bringing her body to life again, bringing it to a living flame of need. "You know," she accused.
    His teeth scraped lightly back and forth over her neck. Her stomach muscles clenched in anticipation.
    Heat pooled immediately within her, low and urgent.
    "What about this, Tempest?" he persisted, his breath warm on her skin.
    She arched her neck to give him better access, her entire body on fire for the erotic ecstasy of his bite.
    "You know, Darius."
    His mouth moved to find hers in a slow, languid kiss he needed more than anything else at that moment.
    It robbed her of her ability to think sane thoughts, to think of anything but him.
    "That is how it feels to me," Darius said, "when your mouth moves over my skin, when your teeth find me and my blood flows into you. It is beautiful and erotic, and my body craves the sharing just as yours does."
    His hands moved over her skin, a slow exploration of her shadows and curves, washing the remnants of soil from her. The feel of his palms gliding over her bare flesh, cupping her breasts possessively, sliding down her belly to the triangle of curls, slipping between her legs to seek her creamy heat brought fire to her body. Brought a hungry demand she had never known. He slowly inched a finger inside her. A second. He thrust into her, explored her velvet interior, knew it pulsed with life and need for only him.
    She pushed against his hand, seeking relief from the gathering fire. Tempest could feel her own inhibitions slipping away as her body initiated its own demands.
    She began to stroke his skin, tracing the heavy muscles of his chest, the definition of his abdomen, then moved lower to cup the weight of him in her palm, to dance enticing fingers along the hard length of him.
    Darius lifted her into his arms, striding out of the pool to lay her on the bed he had made for her, his body blanketing hers.
    Tempest smiled and circled his head with her arms, her hands stroking