Carpathian 09 - Dark Guardian

a chameleon when he needed to be.
    The estate was immense. Lucian had been right in that, even from high ground, Drake would not find a decent shot. But there were other ways. She began to walk along the massive stone wall around the grounds. It was very high, very thick. On the other side, the wolves paced. She couldn't see them, but she sensed they were there. It was odd, but in her mind she thought she could hear them calling to her.
    Drake had come this way. She put a hand on the wall. Would he poison the wolves? That wouldn't pose much of a problem to him. Was that the security Lucian was counting on so heavily? Wolves wouldn't even slow Drake down.

Chapter Six
    Jaxon tilted her head to assess exactly what it would take to climb the wall. Not much. She sighed. What would she be able to see of the house from the top of the wall? She was studying the best way up, seeking finger and footholds, when a cold wind whirled leaves and twigs around her legs. In the midst of the wild blast Lucian loomed up directly behind her, his large frame so close, Jaxon was trapped between his body and the high wall.
    She swung around with a low cry of alarm, trying to bring up her hand with the knife in it. Lucian's fingers curled around her fragile wrist, easily holding her still. He leaned into her, pressing her small frame right into the wall. His mouth touched her ear. "You are not waiting at home for me."
    Her heart was pounding. She wasn't certain if it was from the proximity of his body or the suddenness of his appearance. "Technically, I think I could get away with saying I'm on the property. Sort of. Just checking things out a bit." She made an attempt to face up to him, feeling very vulnerable locked between the wall and his muscular frame. He had removed the knife from her hand, but she was still shackled to him, his fingers tight around her wrist.
    "You are definitely not on the property where I left you, honey," Lucian whispered into her ear, his warm breath stirring tendrils of hair at her neck, stirring unwanted excitement in her body. He pulled the hood from her head to reveal the silky blond hair spilling wildly in all directions.
    She wasn't cold anymore. He had managed to heat her up with a few simple words. "Things didn't go well on your little to-do list?" she asked sweetly.
    His hand slipped around her throat so that her pulse was beating into his palm. His thumb stroked a caress along the delicate line of her jaw. "He has been here before you, angel. You have needlessly placed yourself in danger." Lucian spoke in his most gentle voice, yet she recognized a note of reprimand.
    More than that. A warning, perhaps.
    "It isn't needless. You just aren't getting it. He's probably watching us right now." Realizing it might be so, she made every attempt to swing them around, to somehow cover his big body with her own.
    Lucian could easily pick her intentions out of her mind. She was frantic to protect him from Drake. "Be still, Jaxon," he breathed, his voice a soothing balm, filling her mind with warmth. He held her close to his body with his enormous strength. Sheltering her. Savoring her. "He is not close at this time. I have scanned the area. Had he been near, I would not be so gentle with you. There is no need for you to Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    protect me. Tyler Drake cannot harm me."
    His hand on her throat was warm and possessive, his thumb inducing molten heat in her veins where once there had been only blood. "I don't know what you mean by 'scanned the area,' but I scouted it. I found evidence of him at two sites. We can protect ourselves from one of them easily enough, but this is impossible."
    Lucian bent his head to hers. "You do not listen well." He appeared not to be paying much attention to the conversation, distracted by other things. "Hold still, Jaxon," he murmured.
    She went perfectly still. Jaxon didn't know how, but she felt heat inside her where her wounds were throbbing. His fingers splayed wide across her abdomen. He did nothing else, simply laid his palm over her, but she felt him inside her. At once the pain disappeared. Lucian turned her into his arms. "Do not do this again. You are needlessly tired and cold." He was framing her face between his palms.
    Jaxon watched his eyes go from black ice to burning possessiveness as he lowered his head to hers.
    Mesmerized, she stood waiting for the touch of his mouth. She felt his breath, the heat,