Carpathian 06 - Dark Fire

if you're some weird creature from this underground chamber from hell. I know you know that. You've been in my mind the same way I've been in yours. You know what I think of you. I find you intriguing. And, actually, you're not half bad."
    "You find me sexy," he corrected and kissed her nose.
    She pushed him away and got to her feet, swaying a little with weariness. "Don't let it go to your head. I also find you a pain in the butt." She was wandering around the cave, seemingly inspecting the floor.
    Darius got up with a sigh and followed her. "What are you doing?"
    "Looking for my clothes."
    "You do not need your clothes." He said it very decisively.
    "Darius, if you make love to me one more time, I think I might just die. Since we can't have that, it's much safer to find my clothes."
    He caught her hand and led her back to the little alcove. "You do not even know what you are saying or doing anymore." Another wave of his hand produced two pillows.
    Tempest yawned. "I'm really tired, Darius. I love talking to you, but both of us need to face the facts.
    Even if you're not human, I am. I have no idea what time it is, but I need to sleep."
    He smiled at her, a teasing flash of his teeth. "What do you think I've made up this bed for? This is one of my retreats. I sleep here."
    "I gathered that. But you need to take me back."
    "Back where?"
    Something in his voice warned her. Her green eyes fixed on his face. There was a stillness in him she didn't like. She could hear her heart pounding. "I want to get out of here. You can sleep here, and I'll sleep in the campground, in whatever vehicle they left for us. I don't care. I can sleep under a tree."
    "There is no chance, honey, that I will allow you to sleep apart from me." He said it casually, as if it Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    wasn't a big deal to sleep with an entire mountain-a volcano, at that-crushing down on her. He reached out and shackled her wrist. Not hard. Lightly. A loose bracelet of fingers, no more, but it was a warning all the same.
    "You can't mean for me to sleep here," Tempest protested, jerking away from him. "Stay under the earth all day while you sleep? I can't do it, Darius. Not even for you."
    "You will sleep beside me where I know you are safe, Tempest," he said in his soft, implacable way.
    She backed away from him, visibly pale. "I can't, Darius. When you're distracting me, I don't feel as if I'm suffocating, but I could never lie here in utter darkness and try to sleep. I can't see the way you can.
    If the candles melted down or a draft made them go out, I would go insane. I'd feel buried alive. I'm not like you. I'm human."
    "I will not take you to the surface and leave you on your own. Each time I allow you freedom, something happens to you." Her fear was beating at him. He touched her mind, found desperation, panic. "You will not awaken, Tempest. You think I cannot ensure this? I can command the earth itself should I choose to do so. I can create storms, tidal waves, set lava boiling. Why would I be unable to see that you rest beside me undis-turbed?"
    The tip of her tongue touched her lower lip. Her eyes were wild with fear. "We need to meet up with the oth-ers, Darius. I can drive all day. You can sleep and meet me wherever the designated campsite is. I'll be there, I promise."
    He rose slowly, his body relentlessly masculine. He moved with fluid grace, a predator's rippling power, toward her. She actually backed away from him, her hand going up between them for protection. Darius stopped immediately, his black gaze on that small, fragile hand. It was trembling.
    He sighed softly. "I cannot allow this to continue, Tempest. I have attempted to allow you as much freedom as you need, but we have to have a balance between us. I cannot risk your life, yet when I ask your permission, give you explanations, your fear only grows. If I take command of you as I should, you would feel no fear, no risk. Do you see that you are giving me no choice?"
    He moved then, his speed so blinding that he was on her before she blinked, before she was aware of the impending danger. She struck at him blindly, struggling against his superior strength, her mind in chaos. "How could you do this after what we shared?" she demanded, her voice so fearful that he felt his heart melting.
    He detested frightening her, even though he knew it was for her own protection. Nothing would happen to her here. The mountain wouldn't