Carpathian 13 - Dark Destiny

his fingers at the nape of her neck was a clear warning, preventing her from moving. Without taking his censorious gaze from MaryAnn, Nicolae bent very close to Destiny, until his breath was warm against her ear and his lips skimmed her earlobe, a mere wisp of contact that set her heart pounding and sent heat rushing through her veins. "You cannot call attention to our kind in this place, Destiny. It is the last thing you want."
    His hair brushed her skin like raw silk, and she felt a shiver all the way to her toes. His masculine scent enveloped her. Beckoned. Tempted. His arm, so casually draped over her shoulder, was hard with muscle and sinew, felt hot through her thin blouse. Destiny was so aware of Nicolae as a man, she couldn't think properly. Her world narrowed until it encompassed only the two of them. A strange roaring throbbed in her ears. Her body seemed heavy yet alive, every nerve ending shrieking at her, though whether in alarm or need, she wasn't certain. She didn't care.
    Destiny had spent most of her life alone. Never touching another person unless she was feeding, rarely speaking to anyone. Yet now, here in this place, she was surrounded by people, overwhelmed by the smell of blood, the beating of hearts. Music pounded out a primitive rhythm. She was suffocated by perfume. Alcohol. The noise was deafening, the scents overpowering. This was too much. All of it. She never should have allowed the door to her past to crack open for even a moment. And here was Nicolae. Coming to her when she was lost in the midst of hell. She wasn't prepared for her strange physical reaction to him.
    "Why in the world would you think I'm doing something to hurt Destiny?" Mary Ann looked more shocked than intimidated. "I would never do such a thing. Destiny is upset and rightly so, but not at me.
    Are you a friend of hers?"
    Destiny let her breath out slowly, forced herself to attempt to relax beneath those strong massaging fingers. MaryAnn's voice snapped her back to the reality of here and now. Pretend . She was a mistress of illusion when she had to be. The pad of his thumb lingered over the pulse beating so frantically in her throat, slid back and forth in a gentle, soothing caress. Nicolae could feel her body trembling—how could he not? He could hear her heart pounding loud and hard, and that telltale pulse told him much more than she wanted him to know. But she couldn't stop trembling. She, who was always so controlled, could not control her own pulse beneath his marauding thumb.
    "Perhaps I misread the situation. I could feel Destiny's distress from across the room and I thought you were upsetting her." Nicolae smiled at the woman, a show of elegant charm. He bowed slightly, his white teeth perfect, his sensual face without guile. He looked like a lord of old, at home in a palace. He leaned lower to brush a lingering kiss across the top of Destiny's dark head. Strands of her hair caught for a moment in the stubble along his jaw, connecting them. "I cannot bear it when she is upset. Forgive me if I frightened you. I'm Nicolae Von Shrieder."
    "Mary Ann Delaney." Mary Ann couldn't take her eyes from Destiny's pale face. For just a moment, she thought there were dots of blood on Destiny's forehead, but Nicolae leaned over the younger woman, his Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    head and shoulders blocking Mary Ann's view, and with exquisite care seemed to press a small kiss on the spot. When he straightened, the tiny dots were no longer there, and MaryAnn was certain she had imagined them.
    The swirl of Nicolae's tongue was too much for Destiny to endure. In another minute she would lose control completely. She had no idea what she'd be capable of if she became hysterical, but control was everything to her. She was determined not to lose it. Destiny pushed her palms against the table, sliding her chair deliberately into Nicolae, and surged to her feet, certain she would catch him by surprise.
    As if he had choreographed her movement, Nicolae turned her neatly into his arms, drawing her body into the shelter of his. "Excuse us," he said to MaryAnn, and without missing a beat he whirled Destiny out onto the dance floor.
    "What are you doing?" To her horror, her voice shook. Hunger was a craving now, a terrible, inevitable craving she couldn't ignore. Her face was pressed into the warmth of the hollow of his shoulder. She remembered the taste of him. With his blood on her