Carpathian 11 - Dark Descent

her hand to his face, her fingertips tracing his sinful mouth. "Yes. But there's another consideration, Traian. You're going to be addicting. And then I won't be able to get you out of my system and I'l get al weepy when we have to part, and that's just more than I can bear, crying over some idiot man. Do you see the complications here?"
    "Hmmm. I do see that might be a problem if we were ever to part, but since we are truly lifemates and have no choice but to be together, I do not realy think it is of much importance. In fact, under the circumstances, being addicted to my kisses would be an asset." His strong teeth nipped her finger.
    "The lifemate thing—see? That's part of the problem. I have this overwhelming need to be mistress of my own fate. I don't think I'm cut out to be a lifemate if it entails a have to sort of relationship. I'm a want to sort of woman. There is a difference."
    "That is good, Joie. I do not foresee any problems whatsoever, because as we think so much alike. I am definitely a want to sort of man. And I want to kiss you."
    There was a devilish smirk on his face, one she couldn't possibly resist. And who wanted to anyway? His mouth was descending toward hers, and Joie lifted her face to meet him halfway. Because this kiss was her choice, and he needed to know it.
    Her lips were soft, yielding, welcoming even. After al the long centuries, Traian felt like he had come home. It didn't matter where they were, whose world they were in, she would always be home to him. The Earth stopped spinning, just as he knew it would. Bursts of starfire rained down around them. The embers smoldering deep in his bely burst into flame and raged through his bloodstream. His body knew her almost as intimately as his soul, though he hadn't even realy touched her yet.
    Joie couldn't think, couldn't breathe, forgot whether it was night or day. It was impossible to get her brain to function. She could only feel. Nothing had prepared her for the unrelenting pressure building so swiftly in her body, the heat rising, flames dancing along her skin, creating an inferno deep inside. Passion coiled tighter and tighter, a spring threatening to explode. Her breasts ached. Her fingers found the silk of his hair, crushed the thick mass in her palm. "You shouldn't be able to do this to me," she whispered into his mouth. Into his heart. "I don't let anyone inside."
    "I am already inside you." His lips took hers again, over and over, long, drugging kisses that shook them both.
    "It has to be the danger factor," she said. "It's the only logical explanation."
    "Is there logic? I cannot remember." He couldn't get enough of her. Mud from her face smeared his. Her clothes were wet, soaking his. His wounds burned, but he couldn't feel the discomfort when his body was so heavy and hard with need.
    His voice shook her. It was possessive. Husky. Perfect. A seduction in itself. It was Joie who puled away, framing his face with her hands. She rested her forehead against his. "I need a minute here. I can't breathe, or think, or want anything but you."
    His mouth curved into a smile. "Is that supposed to stop me?"
    Her gray eyes studied every inch of his face. He could see her confusion. "Why do I feel like this? Does this make sense to you, Traian? I don't jump into relationships. Al I can think about is having sex with you. Not just sex—wild, uninhibited sex."
    His smile widened. "I think kissing you is the best idea I have ever had."
    She couldn't help smiling back. He made her happy in a way she never had been. Complete when she hadn't known a part of her was missing. "Why you? You aren't even human."
    "Your entire family has telepathic abilities. Are you certain you are human?"
    Laughter spiled over. "Please don't ever ask my father that. He's outrageous, and he'l tel you some absolutely horrible and untrue tal tale, and we'l al be mortified."
    The raw affection in her voice told him her father's outrageous stories never realy mortified her and she loved the man very much. "That gives me hope. At least I know you plan on introducing me to your parents, but the list of dos and don'ts is growing." He bent his head to steal another kiss. "Hang on. I am about to take you flying."

    She made a noise somewhere between laughter and strangling. "Has it occurred to you I might be afraid of flying?"
    "You were engaged in astral projection the first time I laid eyes on you," he pointed out.
    "I thought it was drug-induced," she admitted. "I'd been